If That's What it Takes
by Chetifla
Summary: If it's a child she wants, she can have it. She can have a dozen babies. Anything she wants." He paused for one beat. "She can have puppies, if that's what it takes."
1. The Proposal

**Disclaimer** I do not own Twilight or New Moon, nor do I own the characters. The rights remain solely with Stephenie Meyer and whoever she associates her series with. I do not own a thing.

**AN** This starts exactly when Edward talks to Jacob outside the Cullen house when Jake decides to see Bella after the honeymoon with Edward. Right when Edward tells him he could have "puppies" with her. There is no Renesmee in this story.

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If That's What It Takes - Chapter one – The Proposal

"_It's killing her, right? She's dying."_

"_Yes," he groaned to the dirt, like he was confessing to the ground."Yes, it's killing her." He ground his claw-like fingers into the dirt. "Even you, Jacob Black, cannot hate me as much as I hate myself."_

_Wrong, I thought, too enraged to speak._

"_Jacob, you have to do something for me."_

"_The hell I do, parasite!"_

_He kept staring at me with those half-tired, half-crazy eyes. "For her?"_

_I clenched my teeth together hard. "I did everything I could to keep her away from you. Every single thing. It's too late."_

"_I don't care about anything but keeping her alive," he said, suddenly focused now. "If it's a child she wants, she can have it, She can have half a dozen babies. Anything she wants." He paused for one beat. "She can have puppies, if that's what it takes."_

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Even with wolf-like reflexes he nearly reeled. Was the leech really suggesting what he thought? If h were in the vampire's place, he didn't even know if he could suggest that. But if he were in his place, this wouldn't be happening.

"I know, Jacob." He hated hearing the sound of his name through the bloodsucker's teeth. It was foul. Tainted. As if hearing Edward say his name too many times would make him sick. Make him tainted. "I shouldn't have taken her away from you and your happiness with her. I've seen what is in your dreams. I wish I could give her those feelings, though knowing I cannot, I wish I hadn't taken that away from both of you." Edward stood, slowly. "Please, Jacob." Jake's neck tingled with anger and anticipation at the use of his name. "I'm begging you to try and make her see sense. Make her choose to live. I couldn't live with myself is she were to die."

"You won't be, if I have any choice in it," he snarled. If it came to that, he would rip him to shreds and burn his body. He might even go after his family. Oh yes, he certainly would. They had become buddy-buddy with his Bella, and made her less frightened of them. She should have been frightened. Should be right this moment. She should be so terrorized by the thought of them that she physically couldn't stand to be near them. Then Jake could help her again, and they'd fall into their old rhythm. "But if I fix this and you decide to take her from me again…"

"If Bella wants a child with you, there is nothing I will do to stop her." Jake could see the defeated look in the other man's eyes, feeling an uninvited surge of pity. He shook it off quickly. A monster like this deserved nothing. Not even pity. But the leech had misunderstood him. He felt his muscles tighten as his frustration grew.

"What if she wants more with me?" He watched the leech as his sentence sank in for a split second. "What if, after all is said and done, she doesn't want her old life back with you? What would you do? I don't want her to be stalked by some old leech for the rest of her life." He unfolded his arms to rest them at his sides, closing his eyes and clamping his jaw shut. His hands balled into fists so forcibly his knuckles were bone white.

"Stop." The bloodsucker contemplated for a moment, and Jake swore he saw realization sprint across the man's features briefly. The albino sank to the ground again, head hung so low that Jake thought for a moment he would break his collarbone with his own chin. He could only wish for now. "She wouldn't…" He spoke so quietly even Jacob had difficulty hearing him. He was raging suddenly, his neck tingling almost unbearably, predatory growls and snarls rising from deep below his chest.

"Look at the situation, you asshole!" Jake was sure every vampire back at the house could hear him screaming. He quieted his voice, still emphasizing his rage through his clenched teeth. "You tore her away from her happy life when you and your bloodsucking family skipped back into town. A happy life I was beginning to make with her after you left her broken, heart ripped out and torn to shreds; the single most painful thing anyone has ever done to her." He made sure the vampire knew the hurt he had caused his Bells. "You didn't see how empty she looked after you left. She was so empty, without color. She wouldn't even cry. She was broken. I was the only one who stood a chance with fixing her. She was at least content to have a life with me, at least as a best friend, maybe more, and then you stole her away with your mind games. Now this? You're fucking kill—" His thoughts must have being going much faster than his mouth, because at that moment Edward rushed forward and slammed him into a large tree trunk, his fingers clasped around his throat, holding him there.

The leech snarled, and a growl resonated from inside his chest. His heart thumped louder in anticipation of a fight. The wolf inside him surged forward, Jake's eyes intent with the need to kill. The surrounding forest was completely silent, all small rodents taking refuge in their homes, the predators gone from the territory. They had no idea how bad this was going to get. Jake's breathing began to speed up, guttural growls rolling from his belly to his throat.

The Vampire's eyes were fierce, his expression crazed and wicked. "No." Jacob continued, a softer sound, but still with the same acidic tone laced with malice. He then continued, his voice steadily growing louder and more forceful, more filled with anger. He could feel the tears stinging at the edge of his eyes, half from anger, half from fear and sadness of the fate this monster put upon Bella.

"You're fucking killing her. You—you _fucked_ her, and put that monster inside of her! It's sucking her life dry every second! Your demon spawn is killing her! And God only knows what kind of sadistic things you did to her when you did that!" He was seething, and once the leech read his thoughts he knew there was truth to his thinking, because the monster shoved him even harder into the trunk, creating a huge dent in his shape. They both snarled. He was even more enraged than before, and started to tremble with a ferocious anger. He didn't try to hide his voice from outside ears, and his words flowed freely. "What the fuck did you do to her, you SICK FUCK?! Why the fuck did you hurt Bella like that?! I'll fucking tear you into so many pieces, even your family of leeches won't be able to put you back together!!" He was nearly shaking with rage, the enemy knowing what was about to happen, and withdrew, letting go of Jake's neck, grabbing fistfuls of his own hair and tearing them out, letting out a silent scream.

"Just fix her, mutt! I don't care what she decides, as long as her decision involves living," he hissed through his locked jaw. Jacob was already racing back to the house. He didn't want to fight. Not now; that empty, shell of a home that would hold an empty shell of his Bella if he didn't stop that… that thing from killing her. He had to stop it. He couldn't let her kill herself over that monster's spawn… And that fucking sadistic prick! How dare he hurt her! Not to mention the leech slowly killing her, he hurt her when he was… Bella. His poor Bella.

_I'm going to save you from all this._

He couldn't let her slip away like this. She's far too good for that. That, and he doesn't want her to die. Any choice she makes toward living is great… She can't do this. Wanting to die for some monster's demon child? She's just had a death wish since she got involved with that fucking leech. _No_, he thought,_ he had placed a target on her since he laid eyes on her._

His mind raced as his feet did towards the plain house with the too-white walls and scarcely used furniture. What if he did get her to agree to this? To him? He didn't think he could ever be happier. Only if she had chosen him over that sick vampire in the first place, he supposed. Before he hurt her like this. _Fuck_, he thought. He would never hurt her, never. Not even at their fucking wedding! He may have been angry as hell, but he hadn't hurt her. But the bloodsucking fiend had. Numerous times.

_Bella… I want to fix you. I want you to live, with me. Please, don't let me be too late._

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Edward was finally back, but he was no longer sitting at her side. He sauntered in front of me and stood in the doorway to another room with even whiter walls, hanging with old paintings that reeked of the sickly sweet smell of vampires, his back facing away from everyone. Jake glared menacingly at the cowardly figure, knowing full well his thoughts made him aware of his already increasing hatred for the rat. The pixie was comforting Bella, but looking at Jake as he gazed lovingly at her. There was anger in Alice's eyes, but not for him. He went to hold Bella's hand.

Bella looked like she was about to crumble, so he cupped her hand lightly in his own. She gasped at his touch. _She's probably not used to heat, being around that icy asshole all the time. _He slowly took in her appearance as she shifted her body toward his. Her face was shallow, like she had hardly eaten in weeks. Her eyes were sunken, not just by the general shallowness of her face, but by her apparent fear. Fear of dying? No. Fear for the thing inside her. His thoughts steered his eyes.

Her stomach was not a round baby belly, like the mothers of normal children. Her stomach nearly looked stretched too far over a tumor. He saw it move. It looked disgusting, even underneath her shirt. He looked at her hand again; her knuckles were bone white, her fingers skeleton-like. It was as if this thing in her was sucking her inside herself like some demonic black hole. He looked up into her eyes. They were pleading, and drained. He finally gathered himself enough to open my mouth.

"Bella…" She winced, hand flying to her stomach. His hand instinctually followed, hoping to know if it caused her pain on purpose. It did, he believed. He realized touching her stomach was a bad idea, for as soon as his warm hand glided over her stomach, it reacted, protruding, and stretching. He could swear he heard it growl. In his mind, this thing was irrevocably evil. She gasps at its reaction again, and he immediately removed his hand, looking at her with a somber expression. He remembered, briefly, who was in the room before he spoke again. "I need to speak with Bella alone, if that's all right."

The blonde had a fit. Didn't she see it was killing Bella? He figured she didn't care, so long as she had some demon child of her own. That was the only reason she would have to help this creature survive. The only one e could see, anyway. The rest of the Cullens retreated with her after the giant bear forced her away. The cause of this mess, for some reason, was still in the doorway. He looked hung, like a marionette placed haphazardly on a puppeteer's hook. Jake could smell his emotion, his anger. What did he have to be angry about?

"Leave," a voice had sounded. It was Bella's. The bloodsucker hesitated, then angrily hissed and sprinted off. Jake turned to Bella, finally alone with her.

"Bella…" he began. How was he going to say this? "I don't want you to do this." Well, that was a start.

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**AN** Well here's the first chapter. Review and let me know what you think. Do want to read more? ;)

Cheti


	2. It's Not a Baby, Bella

**Disclaimer** I do not own Twilight or any of its successive books, nor do I own the characters. The rights remain solely with Stephenie Meyer and whoever she associates her series with. I do not own a thing.

**AN** I know I only had a teaser for the second chapter up and I'm sorry! I haven't had the time to do anything lately. Children sort of do that to you. Anywho, here's the actual second chapter! And if you'll reread the first, you'll notice I made quite a few changes. It's beefier! Yes, I'm trying to flesh out my writing a little more, without using just dialogue or character actions. Thank you for the advice from Renas Asylum! And here we go!

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If That's What It Takes - Chapter two – It's Not a Baby, Bella

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"Bella…" he started. How was he going to say this? "I don't want you to do this." Well that's a start. He could see the pain in her eyes as he said that. "Bella, honey, please. It's not because I don't want you to have a kid, I promise. If it weren't…" he moved his arms around in circles, "like this, if it were normal, even with him, I wouldn't… be angry." His hands landed on his thighs, the muscles underneath quivering, though not from his anger. "I'm not angry at you, Bells," he started, as he watched her thoughts dance across her face, "I'm angry at him. Them. What they, especially _him_, did to you. This," he says as his hand motions towards her belly, "…is not normal. You're not healthy. It's sucking the life out of you. That's not natural."

Her breathing hitched. "Jacob… I can't deny this baby a life." Bella rubbed a tentative hand along her stomach, touching it lightly. Her smile was evidently genuine, but he couldn't miss the pained look her eyes held. It seemed off, somehow. He brought his thoughts back to the task at hand.

"It's not a baby, Bella." He reached to put his hand near it again. Before he could even touch it, her stomach vibrated visibly with its growl. A high pitched keening sounded, startling her. The light from outside the bland room darkened faintly, in time with the demon spawn's exclamation. Jake felt the back of his neck tingle and the hairs on it stand on end. "It's not a baby, Bella," he repeated, his eyes somber. He hated making her sad. "It hates me. It's a vampire's spawn! No normal baby would do that. Did you see the room just now? Bella, it's even hurting you," he told her, as she winced in pain again, hand flying to her stomach. He paused. He thought of an old story that was told to him when he joined the pack. "There is another Quileute legend I know, that my people do not speak of. I want to tell it to you."

She hesitated with her answer, grasping his hand slightly tighter as her stomach trembled again. "I'll listen, Jacob." Her voice was small. He took a deep breath and began his story.

"There was a time when there were few vampires, when our people first took the form of their spirit wolves. In a town somewhere between our reservation and the city now known as Tacoma, there was a woman that had been 'cursed' by a vampire. She bore a demon child that killed her during childbirth, draining her as it emerged from her womb. It held innumerable victims after its birth, and my ancestors had to… take care of it." He took a moment to rub her forearm slightly. She was trembling, and he knew it wasn't from the temperature of the room. He switched my gaze from her face to her stomach. This was a story he did not want to tell, but if it saved Bella from the creature that was causing her so much pain, he could stand to bear it. He steeled himself.

"The woman had been made pregnant by a vampire, one known as the Incubus. The woman could not remember what had happened, but within a few months she was sure she would give birth to it soon. Her Belly had been bruised so horribly, her ribs and pelvis broken, her insides... messed up." In truth they had been scrambled, and the woman had been literally gutted, pieces strewn everywhere. He shook his head during his second of silence, not sure he could stomach the imagery. His mind tried to imagine her as the mother, but he quickly shunned that line of thought. He had hoped Edward could hear his thoughts, just so he knew what he could cause to happen to Bella. His narrowed as he glared at the ground. "It was bad. I would never wish that kind of fate upon you, Bella. Not on anyone."

She was hesitantly listening, and he waited for her to speak, though she didn't make a sound for a long moment. "Jake." She looked at her still expanding stomach. "It's still my child. I want it to live. I can't kill it." Did she not understand what he was saying? He countered her.

"There were so many victims, Bella. So many that it makes me sick to think about it. But its first victim was the worst. The mother. The one who had been so gracious as to give it life. This thing inside you, its first victim is already planned. I don't want it to get away with that. I would never allow you to let yourself succumb to... that. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I could stop you from letting it happen.

"The vampires here will kill it as soon as it kills you. There is no way to contain these monsters. There are too many innocents whose lives will be risked. Including yours. Especially yours. No one wants you to do this, Bella. No one that really cares about you. The ones that care about you, they don't want you to do this to yourself. Just seeing you in pain like this makes me wants to... makes me want to do things to someone I've never wanted to do." He knew that was a lie, but she didn't. He's always wanted to kill that bastard for hurting like he had already, and now with this new development, he was itching for blood to fall. He looked at her and their eyes locked in an intense gaze that let her know how strong his feelings were about this. He could tell she was beginning to feel depressed. His head hung slightly, and he looked at the hardwood floors, memorizing the lines that were ground darkly into each piece of wood. It looks delicate. He wanted to smash them to pieces. This whole house he wanted to tear apart, including its vampire occupants.

Jacob took a moment to really look around him. The house looked as lifeless as the leeches that lived here. He could smell so much anger, mostly from himself, but a lot of it wafting in the room still was not his. He assumed it was the pixie's. She had been glaring daggers at the floor when he came in to see Bella. He also smelled the barest hint of happiness. _Probably the blonde devil_, he scoffed to himself. How could she be so stupid and uncaring that she was willing to let Bella die so this thing could kill hundreds of people? Maybe she thought it was going to be some kindhearted little human baby. He glanced at Bella's stomach again. _Yeah, right,_ he thought. _This thing will be a fucking monster._

Jake sighed. He'd been thinking by himself for too long. He needed to tell her about what he and the leech talked about.

"Bells, Edward--" He absolutely hated saying that name--"asked me to do something. A favor." He smelled her anger flare suddenly, and glanced up to see color rising to her cheeks.

"He wants you to kill it!" she accused. Jake didn't move. "He asked you to kill it!" She yanked her hand away from his, a disgusted look on her face. He caught disbelief and a little hurt in her expression as well. He guessed she didn't trust Edward around her anymore. Or at least, he hoped that's what the hurt in her expression was for. It changed a little, turning into love. Love for the creature inside her.

"No, Bella, he asked me to convince you to keep yourself alive."

"I... can't explain it too well, Jake, but I want children. This has opened my eyes to something new, and I'll admit, wonderfully frightening. Even if I can only have this one, I want it. I need it." Jake was a little flabbergasted. Where did that come from? Bella never expressed interest in kids before, or at least not in his company. His eyes briefly traveled to the undulating thing in her stomach, then went back to gazing at her face. He took a breath.

"If you could have normal children, would you?" He grasped her frail hand with both of his own. She did not hesitate with her answer.

"Yes." She looked at their hands, void of the normal emotions brought on by his touch. Her usual nervousness and slight flush of her cheeks. He wondered idly if it was the demon inside of her causing her to suddenly decide she aspired to be a mother.

"Bells... You can have normal children. Don't you want them?" His eyes moved his head upwards as they pleaded with her, but she kept staring at their hands.

"Yes, I do. You have no idea how badly. This is something I need to experience." He was taken aback, again. It must be the leech's spawn doing this. He shook his head.

"Then don't do this Bella. You can have normal kids, but only if you don't do this! You only want to do this because the thing inside you is messing with your head. I can tell how different you are acting now, and it worries me. You're acting like it's a real person inside there. It's not. The bloodsucker did not give you a baby. He gave you a monster." He ended his small speech with such emotion she was taken aback. She gasped slightly as thoughts raced through her head. He caught uncertainty, confusion, and finally, anger.

"JACOB!" She yanked her hand from his. "You're still trying to make me leave him, after--!"

"No, Bella," he interrupted. "He's asking me a favor." She looked confused and shocked.

"What...?"

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**AN** And that's the second chapter. I'll update the next chapter soon. Also, I'm looking for a beta reader. I read over my own things and usually catch most of my mistakes, but I don't get them all! Message me if you're interested. :)

Cheti


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